Cafe Carpenter — Restaurant in Melbourne

Café Carpenter is indeed a cute café / restaurant with unique furnishing and is hyped up a lot. Hence, I decided to give it a shot.

Let’s start with the seating arrangements, the seatings are a bit too cramped and close together (similar to seats in a cinema or an aeroplane) for my liking. It is hard to have a conversation with someone you’re dining with and you can just overhear conversations from people dining next to you.

Now with the menu, one side has Japanese cuisine and the other Korean. We ordered;

Octopus with wasabi – This is good. Takoyaki – I’ve had a lot of takoyakis in from various places in Melbourne as well as in Osaka, Japan. The Takoyaki they served here was just to gooey and falls apart as soon as they are touched. Flavour was good though but texture was just not there. Bossam – This is average / good. Okonomiyaki (Seafood) – Flavour and texture is similar to the Takoyaki so in hindsight I wouldn’t order this again if I am ordering the Takoyaki as well.

In terms on friendliness, I would say average as well. We arrived at 8.30pm on a Thursday. It took pretty long for the waiter / waitress to take our order and it also took pretty long for the food to be served. I looked at the kitchen and it was pretty small so that’s probably why.

Overall, a nice setting with...

cafe carpenter caters to those who seek for a casual intimate dinner in a small and almost eclectic restaurant. If I had said “surprise me” and my dinner partner took me here, I would have been suitably impressed. Reservations are recommended for dinner, it got packed pretty quickly on a Friday night for us.

It’s natural to feel wary about restaurants which serve both Japanese and Korean cuisines. But boy, I had a pleasant and enjoyable meal here. The seafood okonomiyaki (always add cheese when the option presents itself) was one of the best versions I’ve sampled here in Melbourne. Crispy and delicious, I always find it a way to sneak vege in your meal without ordering a blatantly healthy dish.

The Korean pork belly dish got the flavours right, but the meat was a bit tougher than what I was used to for rice bowls. The karaage chicken salad was crispy and delicious - certainly more attention was paid to the chicken than the salad, which needed a bit more seasoning.

Our food came up to about $50 which was reasonable for a small business. Loved the little Japanese restaurant ambience and the Asian supermarket next to it too....

Oh..where to begin. Korean, Japanese and everything in between, the sheer variety is a bit overwhelming at first. If I could order everything I just might. Normally I am a bit skeptical about places with too many choices, but at this place they do not disappoint.

If you are looking for a friendly neighborhood restaurant and drinking place (Like an Asian Fushion Cheers?), but maybe are unsure of what you want, but just know that you want good food, then Cafe Carpenter is the place for you.

It is not easy to find a place with a classically trained chef from Japan and someone who also actually lived and breathed the Korean street food scene. Food wise, from the LA Ribs, to the Donkatsu, and Takoyaki everything is excellent and authentic. Wide selection of alcoholic drinks, coffee, as well as desserts. The pricing is also very reasonable for comparable quality.

While the quality, variety and service were all excellent, the one thing that stood out most for me was the friendliness and warmth of the owners and staff. I...